The emergence of the Group of 20+ developing countries at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting in Cancun in September was an “important moral and political victory” that significantly strengthened the bargaining power of developing countries and sought to constrain the dominance of the powerful countries, according to South African Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel.
Addressing participants at the World Customs Organisation IT conference in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening, Manuel said that despite the gains by the developing countries in Cancun, the victory there was “at best defensive”. It had seen a strategic realignment of power within the WTO.
“By itself, the collapse of the talks does not advance the interest of developing countries,” he observed. “It merely points to the need for change in the terms of engagement.”
At the same time, the failure to broker an agreement on the mandate for the next round of WTO trade negotiations had thrown into disarray the immediate future of the multilateral trading system, noted Manuel.
“To be sure, something happened in Cancun. But what it is and what it means for the world trading system is yet to be fully comprehended.”
The challenge was to ensure that the multilateral system in all its various dimensions continued to enjoy the confidence of the peoples of the world, and was capable of addressing matters of concern to all humanity.
“We need to maintain vigilance in regard to prospects for increasing bilateralism and the risk that such developments may effectively marginalise developing countries,” he cautioned. — I-Net Bridge